Personal electronic devices (PEDs) become increasingly widespread. Usually those PEDs get carried around along with the user wherever he travels, including on board of aircraft. Considering the manifold communication interfaces which such PEDs comprise it is desirable to provide passengers on board an aircraft with access to the different networks of the aircraft, for example a wireless local area network (WLAN). Mobile content distribution networks on board of aircraft allow extending comfort amenities and services such as internet access, on-board shopping opportunities and access to in-flight entertainment (IFE) systems.
Moreover, it may contribute to a passenger's comfort, if PEDs may be temporarily deposited or placed down in a receptacle that facilitates operating the PED and viewing graphical display units of the PED in a convenient manner. When cradled in such a receptacle, airlines usually offer charging facilities for the PEDs utilizing USB ports, power grid connectors and/or wireless charging such as Qi or Power Matters Alliance (PMA) charging.
PEDs additionally often incorporate near field communication (NFC) circuitry comprising NFC chips and corresponding antennas. NFC is a wireless technology allowing two NFC-enabled devices to wirelessly communicate over a short distance of several centimeters. NFC is standardized internationally within NFC Forum specifications and defined in, for example, ISO/IEC 18092, ISO/IEC 18000-3, ISO/IEC 21481, ECMA-340, ISO 14443, and the like. A main application area for NFC technology is contactless, short-range communications on the basis of radio frequency identification (RFID) standards.
NFC utilizes electromagnetic field induction that enables communication between PEDs such as laptops, mobile phones, smartphones, tablet PCs and the like.
The document US 2011/0278885 A1 discloses coupling assemblies for portable electronics devices including a cradle configured to electronically couple and releasably engage a portable electronics device, and an adaptor configured to electronically couple and releasably engage the cradle to a passenger seat.
The document U.S. Pat. No. 8,061,550 B2 discloses reconfigurable bins which include at least one structural component formed of shape memory materials such as a shape memory polymer, a shape memory alloy, or a combination thereof. The shape memory material of the reconfigurable bins is in operative communication with an activation device adapted to provide an activation signal effective to change at least one attribute of the shape memory material such that the bin can be reconfigured from a first shape to a second shape.